Love one another; as I have loved you, by this all will know that you are my disciples. -John 13:34-35
I love a quirky movie called Lars and the Real Girl. I think this movie is misunderstood because it seems like it is going to be a comedy but it actually isn’t. I mean there some very funny scenes but Lars and the Real Girl is more than just funny; it has a huge heart.
You eventually find out that Lars’ mom dies at childbirth giving birth to him, his dad is sad and distant, and his brother leaves the sadness of the house the first chance he could get. From the day Lars is born he has no one to show love to him and in turn, Lars does not learn how to love.
Because Lars is incredibly lonely, he gets on a sex doll porn site and orders a doll by the name of Bianca. This provides some laughs but what you start to see is that Lars has ordered the doll to have someone to love. Lars asks his brother and his sister in-law if Bianca could stay with them because she and Lars want to abstain from sex. He asks if Bianca could borrow some clothing (because missionaries don’t wear fishnet stockings) and asks if they will take care of her needs and both reluctantly agree.
The next morning Lars’ brother takes him and Bianca to a psychologist who says that Lars has a Delusional Disorder, that he has brought Bianca into their lives for a reason and that it would be best to go along with the delusion. Eventually, Lars’ church, his co-workers, and his community all come together to support him.
Lars brother and sister-in-law take care of Bianca. They bathe her, feed her, and tuck her into bed every night. The church picks her up for choir practice and his co-workers take Bianca to get her hair done and welcomes her at parties they have outside of work. When Lars tells everyone that Bianca is dying they rally around Lars to help him feel comfort. Lars was leaving his delusional world to embrace a life that was real again.
So, why am I talking about Lars? Because we all have a Lars in our life. Someone who we think is believing crazy ideas, is not acting the way we think they should be acting, or someone who gets in our way and forces us to try to consider their thought processes.
In many ways, I feel like we have lost what “community” is all about. It isn’t loving people that are just like us. It is loving all people. Loving the left, loving the right, loving Christians, loving non-Christians, loving the homeless, loving the disabled, loving all races, and loving all genders.
I may not understand you. I may not agree with you. But I am to love you, just as you are called to love me.
Haven’t seen this movie but I like your thoughts about it. Everyone we know is deeply struggling with something. To love others without judgment is only possible when we make the conscious effort to do so. If we are fortunate enough to have those kind of friends, I believe it’s because God himself put them there.
Good message🤗